245 Gallon Michigan Reef Tank

[rldcpa]

To let you know how I got here...

A few months ago, I went to a family restaurant with my family and they had a nicely kept reef aquarium and it peaked my interest. I had a marine tank many years ago but then I had kids and moved and sold everything off and concentrated on my family. Now the children are grown and I decided it was time to restart the hobby again.

My goal is to have a stable mixed reef aquarium, with a good deal of SPS, LPS, clams and a number of small and mid sized friendly reef safe fish. I am going to try to stay away from problem fish, corals and equipment.

Thanks to this forum and other sites my research began to update my knowledge of maintaining a successful reef tank. Things have changed and I needed to know the changes to the hobbythat occurred over the years.

My tank is scheduled to be here within the next couple of weeks and in the mean time I have gone on a shopping spree getting the best equipment I could reasonably afford and tried to take advantage of the various sales from online stores.

I will gather some photo's of the build in subsequent posts. Feel free to comment and critique my build and hopefully I will be successful. Thanks for all your support.

[rldcpa]

The first thing I had to do was to sand, patch and paint the room and then clean the carpets. This was a requirement (order) from my wife prior to doing anything. This took about 5 weeks to complete, which was fine as I had much research to do.

Originally I was going to go with a 110 gallon but slowly it grew to a 245 gallon.

Now with that big a tank, weight might be an issue so more research and then a trip to Home Depot to get 2 Jack Post that can each hold up to 9000 pounds and then a 6"x6"x8' beam to support the floor joists.

See attached photos (took 3 of us to get the 6x6x8 up and secure.

[rldcpa]

Here is some of the BRS Reef Saver Rock. I asked for alot of large pieces and that is what I got.

[laf-reef]

Welcome back to the hobby. Sounds like it's going to be a great build.

Comment on jack posts - to properly support the weight the slab needs to be thickened below the jack post. If you simply install them on top of a "standard" concrete slab they'll crack the slab when subjected to the load. The cracked slab will depress/deflect and prevent the jack post from carrying the load as planned.

[rldcpa]

Here is some of the equipment that I will be using.

For lighting I got 3 LED Maxspect Razor 160 watt 16k lights. I beleive they will cover the tank as i will be running them front to back.

For the protein skimmer I went with the SRO5000 Int. I believe this will handle this tank. i thought about the 3000 model but went up one size.

For a controller I went with the Neptune Apex as I felt it was priced well, seemed to be the most popular and heard good things about it. It will be controlling my heaters, pumps and ATO.

[rldcpa]

For Substrate I got 90# of Tropic Eden Reeflakes. I know this does not seem like much but I will not put it under the rock and only plan to have 1/2" to 1" in depth of substrate. Just enough to cover the bottom nicely without having problems with dirty deep gravel that could cause issues later. This is reaaly clean and has a nice look to it. It was more expensive than other brands but for a few dollars more, I feel that it was the right size not to get blown around and one of the nicer looking substrates.

I started making RO/DI water right away as I need quite a few gallons and this BRS unit makes only about 75 gallons per day. I got a few Brute trash cans to store the water and installed a float so it would automatically shut off and not overflow onto my floor. I was surprised that my water was not that bad as the TDS was only about 5.

[rldcpa]

For flow, I got 2 Tunze 6105 controllable Streams. I may have to add 1 or 2 more down the road. We will see how powerful these end up being.

My main return pump is a Waterblaster HY-7000W. It should be able to handle the tank. I thought the 10000 would be to powerful and the 5000 to weak. I am planning on about 600-900 gallons per hour through the main part of the sump. We will see.

The Sump also has a built in 20 gallon ATO and a built in refugium that will be fed from a small Enheim 600 compact pump. The refugium will hold and grow Chaeto and I bought a 38 par 18 watt, 1200 lumens, 4900k LED clip on light.

[rldcpa]

I did consider the pressure on the basement cement floor. I thought that I could break up the floor and make footings, but that would be a mess and expensive. I also though of puting a plate under the post to spread the weight to the floor. It turned out these jack posts have a 6x6" plate on the bottom just for this kind of application. These are made to help support floors under heavy appliances and in my case, a big tank.

So, I figured that the tank will weigh up to 3000 pounds complete. The tank will sit on the outside wall of the foundation which will take alot of the weight, most of the weight will be spread across the 4-6 joists and the 6"x6"x8' beem will help support the floor the tank sits on. I estimate that the weight on each post could not be more than 1000 pounds each and more likely 500 pounds per post.

So even if a 1000 pounds are on each post and the other weight is spread to the foundation wall and joists, the plate at the bottom of the post is 36 square inches which would only be put pressure of 28 pounds per square inch on the cement floor which should not cause any damage.

Let me know if you think i am way off here or if I am missing something.

[rldcpa]

The Tank

The tank is a Great Lakes Aquarium all glass tank with Starphyre front glass. the tank is 72" long, 30" deep, and 26" high.

I wanted the 30" depth for a decent area for aquascaping and originally I was going with a 22" high tank as it was less expensive and easier to service, but when I saw the 26", I decided that the look was so much better.

The overflow was my biggest concern and alot of research went into it. Originally I looked at a Miracles tank where they were going to buld me a bean-animal overflow on the outside on the back of the tank. This would allow more room inside the tank, but the cost was double and had eurobracing which seemed like cleaning and maintenance would be more hassle to maintain.

Instead Great Lakes Aquarium built me an inside overflow with 3 1.5" holes for drains (1 vacuum drain, 1 durso drain which will have very little flow, and a third draim for emergency only) and one 1" return split into to tow 3/4" deep returns that will run down to the bottom for better flow behind the corals. The only negative to this overflow is that it is inside the tank.

The overflow is black so I had the back of the tank painted black so all wires and the back of the tank is hidden. It should make the tank look very clean.

I will try to have a aquascaping that allows for depth of field coral placement and hides most of the overflow when setup and should cover it completely once the coral growth matures.

Being all glass and 26" high and 30" deep the tank required 2 cross braces (2 inches wide) at 24" and 48" from the side edge of the tank. These should not interfere with maintenance. Pictures will be forthcoming.

[rldcpa]

In the next few months I will need to get a few more items, most likely in this order:

1. Carbon Reactor - Not sure which one to get, but they all seem reasonably priced...might go with the 4" Octopus
2. Bio-pellet reactor - Will either go with a Reef Octopus or a Reef Dynamics. Both have pumps with the units.
3. Calcium Reactor - Once corals are underway, I will need this as dosing will most likely be too expensive. I was thinking of a Aquariumplants CarbonDoser Electronic Co2 Regulator with digital counter, PH probe from Neptune Apex, the CO2 tank I will get at Airgas but still unsure which Calcium Reactor would be best with the Aquariumplants regulator as I do not need a bubble counter when using this regulator.

Any suggestions on the above 3?

[tdb320reef]

Here is some of the equipment that I will be using.

For lighting I got 3 LED Maxspect Razor 160 watt 16k lights. I beleive they will cover the tank as i will be running them front to back.

For the protein skimmer I went with the SRO5000 Int. I believe this will handle this tank. i thought about the 3000 model but went up one size.

For a controller I went with the Neptune Apex as I felt it was priced well, seemed to be the most popular and heard good things about it. It will be controlling my heaters, pumps and ATO.

I have that skimmer on a 320 it is a great skimmer.

[Adam G]

Sounds like you are doing it right. I like your choice of equiptment. Looking forward to watch how this progresses!

[laf-reef]

I did consider the pressure on the basement cement floor. I thought that I could break up the floor and make footings, but that would be a mess and expensive. I also though of puting a plate under the post to spread the weight to the floor. It turned out these jack posts have a 6x6" plate on the bottom just for this kind of application. These are made to help support floors under heavy appliances and in my case, a big tank.

So, I figured that the tank will weigh up to 3000 pounds complete. The tank will sit on the outside wall of the foundation which will take alot of the weight, most of the weight will be spread across the 4-6 joists and the 6"x6"x8' beem will help support the floor the tank sits on. I estimate that the weight on each post could not be more than 1000 pounds each and more likely 500 pounds per post.

So even if a 1000 pounds are on each post and the other weight is spread to the foundation wall and joists, the plate at the bottom of the post is 36 square inches which would only be put pressure of 28 pounds per square inch on the cement floor which should not cause any damage.

Let me know if you think i am way off here or if I am missing something.

I suspect you'll find the slab will crack at the base of these jack posts. There are several factors that may work in your favor - thickness of the slab, rebar in the slab, compressive strength of the concrete, and load bearing capacity of the soil below the slab. I considered a similar set-up when I installed my 120 on the first floor. I had a professional structural engineer review the plan and he rejected the use of jack posts without thickening the slab below them. Instead he recommended doubling-up or sistering the floor joists (2x10's in my case) below the tank. I sistering the floor joists and haven't had any issues - tank has been installed for 5 years.

Having said all of that, you may be fine but I'd recommend having it reviewed by a structural engineer.

[rldcpa]

Its funny, but the tank builder said I don't need any additional support. He may be right but for $110 I think it is worth the additional support.

The tank will sit on the foundation wall, which can support tons of weight and will come into the room only 30 inches. I ran the 6x6x8' beam across 6 joists only 24" from the foundation wall. Its not going to flex the floor at all with this setup.

However, you are right that you could get cracking of the cement if the cement is thin, dirt underneath is not compressed, etc. The floor should be good for up to 3000psi and I will have at most 27psi so i do not think I have an issue at all.

I do appreciate your concern and will certainly watch the effect of the tank on the joists, floor and cement and if I see any issue, I will address it.

[rldcpa]

I took about 30% of the BRS Reefsaver Rock (after rinsing it off) and treated it with some RO/DI water and vinegar to see how dirty it was. After acouple of days I then soaked in just Ro/di wter. I really got no residue or smell.

I think for the other 70% I will just rinse it since it is going to be a new tank setup.

[zsqure]

Subscribed to this thread. I would also like a GLA tank. Right now I am slinking along with a trusty corner overflow 90 gal that I would love to replace with an 8ft tank down the road.

[rldcpa]

I saw one of their 8 foot tanks and its huge. 6ft is as big as I dared for room size and my wife killing me if I went any bigger.

She approved the 6 foot but only wanted the 24" deep tank as she thought it would come into the room too much. I ordered the 30" deep tank as I wanted the room for aquascaping. I know its only 6 more inches but I feel it will open up more options. Also, it allowed a 24" deep sump instead of only 18" which I really wanted to fit everything I wanted in.

[BigCity]

Looking forward to some pics, I have requested a quote from Great Lakes for a very similar aquarium setup. Interested on opinions on the service and quality as I have requests out to about 4 or 5 manufacturers and also for a deep dimension 300g.

[Crazy_Beaver]

very nice choice of equipment and dimensions!You are a man with a plan and ill follow!!!!

[rldcpa]

I stopped at Great Lakes Aquarium, the builder of my tank, and its ready for delivery on Sunday. All I can say is its really big. My wife is going to kill me when she sees this thing. The tank looks nice and the rear centered overflow doesn't look too big and is only 5 inches deep. I had the back of the tank painted black and the overflow box is black so it should all blend in well. I should be able to hide most of it with the BRS Reef Saver dry rock I got. Good thing I am having it delivered as the tank, stand and sump are around 300+ pounds.

The sump is huge too. In fact, it seems like its large enough to be a good sized display tank let alone a sump. The sump came out nice, with built in ATO chamber, Reactor and Skimmer section, 3 baffles, pump section and refugium.

The stand came out nice with a nice smooth black finish with 2 front door and 2 side doors and rear open access.

Plus on Sunday Best Buy is delivering my upgrade 60" LED TV (upgraded from 40" LCD).

Sunday can't come too soon.

[BigCity]

Are you happy with the quality of hte tank? I have a quote from them for a 320g with bean animal overflow, its competitively priced but haven't had much finding others that have their tanks. Definitely the closest manf to me other than glasscages.

[muttley000]

Nice choice in equipment, looking forward to seeing it come together

[rldcpa]

I have been to their facility at least 12 times and check out all of their tanks each time and the quality is good. Its not quite as sharp as an all glass tank (this tank has the black plastic molding on the top and 2 braces but they are built well and they guarantee the tanks for years if you get a stand from them (that way they know it will support it properly without puting undue stress on the tank).

The poplar black stand look pretty great and well built with a nice finish and is much nicer than the pine version. I got it 36" so I have room to work in the sump area and for the taller equipment.

Seams look clean on the display tank. I paid a few dollars more for the black silicone and it makes the tank look pretty nice.

I will have pictures of the setup next week.

I have to work on the aquascaping. I have an idea of what I want and hope the rock (and my creative abilities) work out well.

[rldcpa]

You spoke of the bean animal. That is what I designed for mine. 3 1.5" drains and 1 return split into 2 deep in-tank returns. The 2 in-tank returns run down to the bottom and will put flow deep in the tank to move water and debis from behind the rock by the overflow box.

I will get a picture so you can see what I mean.

The drains are so big, I will only run the main siphon drain and the durso to the 7" sock into the water about an inch or two and the emergency drain will run outside the sock and not into the water so I will hear splashing of water if the main 2 drains plug (seems unlikely, but that is what the emergency pipe is for). I got a 1.5" threaded gate valve for the main siphon drain and will adjust the valve to get the flow right.

The painted back glass and black inside overflow box blend together nicely.

[rldcpa]

Just got my tank delivered. I am so glad I had it delivered as once it was set in place, we had to move it a couple of inches and it was hard to move. I think they said the tank, stand and sump way 400+ pounds.

Here are some photos.

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/IMG_0026.jpg[/IMG]

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/IMG_0025.jpg

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/IMG_0024.jpg

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/IMG_0024.jpg

[BigCity]

Looks good!!

[rldcpa]

Here are some photos of the overflow and plumbing. Today I was testing the bulkhead seals and no leaks. Also the 1.5" gate valve for the bean-animal/herbie overflow is huge.

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/IMG_0041.jpg


http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/IMG_0044.jpg

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/IMG_0042.jpg

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/IMG_0040.jpg

[Reefnut2010]

How much did you pay for that set up? If you don't mind me asking. I was looking at the exact same thing but made in acrylic. I may go 2" higher though, if I go through with the upgrade.

[rldcpa]

As the RO/DI is being made and the tank is filling, I am working on the aquascaping. I first started with alot of caves and vaired protrusions of rock. But after review I found that this would not be so good for space and flatter places for the future corals.

Then I tried what you see below, which looks a bit boring now, but might be better for lots of coral placement. I am thinking that the space between the 2 rock piles might look better if it was more diagonal.

In any case, I would appreciate comments and ideas on how to improve this or should I scrap it and try something else.


http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/IMG_0049.jpg

[averageguys]

Very nice. Love that rock.

[DopeCantWin]

I've been trying to work out my aquascape for a 210 for a while. Watching your thread for inspiration on the build. One of the things I've read is people don't like it when rockwork only goes up halfway or lower. Something else I've been thinking about is fish are more comfortable when they can swim through holes and not see each other. Specifically I got that from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzKZpkfiLpg.

[rldcpa]

Ok, I tried something different. Not sure its right yet, but will wait for some feedback.


http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/015.jpg

[rldcpa]

I almost think the 1st one (3 posts up) will look better one there is coral.

If anyone knows some nice tanks photos that can help with my design, it would be appreciated.

As a side comment, this rock really drys out your hands and literraly takes the skin off due to its roughness.

[DopeCantWin]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=20782809&postcount=115 is how it could look like with rocks going up to about the middle.

[BigCity]

I'm liking the one in post #32, looser look of the rock should help with the flow. I would worry the one further up would be too compact and could start trapping debri, etc. I think this has cause problems in my 120g with too much rock causing lower flow and increased phosphates.

[DopeCantWin]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2175051&page=8 is where rocks go up higher, but in a 120.

[DopeCantWin]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=20723437&postcount=1594 is an aquascape I've been looking at. Let me know if you'd like me to shut up with my ideas. I've been littering your thread.

[rldcpa]

I appreciate all your ideas.

I put some of the rock in the tank to see how it looked. The tank is much more limiting then playing with the rock on the carpet. Plus the water magnifies things a bit (I think 25%) so now I have to reduce the depth of the rock terain a bit as I want lots of open space in the front of the tank.

Good thing I got the 30" depth instead of 24" otherwise I would be really limited since many of the rock pieces are fairly large.

Tank is about 1/3 full of RO/Di water. It should be full by Sunday and then comes the first system test.

Also, so far, no leaks or spills on the tank, sump and plumbing.

[rldcpa]

Here is the result of my first in tank aquascape with the new rock. Let me know what you think and if you see anything I can improve on. It's a bit hard to tell without all the water in the tank.

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/006.jpg

[Newbie Aquarist]

Personally, I like that the best. More openings so the rock can breathe.

[DopeCantWin]

Couple ideas. On the left side move those 3 rocks in slightly, so you have enough room to clean the glass and fish can swim around it. Same on the right side if you can. Then take out the 3 rocks on the right group's left side. Use 2 to create another arch at the top of the right side. Use one to lengthen the group on the left coming out closer into the front and slightly to the right.

[SchnitzelReef]

I have a 180g, and started off with a TON of rock similar to you. Over time I have pulled out nearly half of it. It's not a good idea to stack so many rocks on top of each other, as there will be no flow and a big build up of detritus. Also make sure to keep the rocks off the back wall, again it will build up detritus. My aquascaping skills suck, and I'm not happy with it even now. On my next build, I will be ordering all man made structures and just keep a section in my sump for some LR. I am not one to give aquascaping ideas, but just make sure there is an area between each rock for some flow. The first pic u posted with the rocks on the carpet, looks way to tightly packed. U may want to look into some epoxy to hold the structure together so in the future it doesn't ever fall. My biggest regret on my tank is not taking my time and doing the aquascaping the right way. Try doing some more research on different aquascapes to help inspire u.

Good luck




Sent from my iPhone

[rldcpa]

I did make sure there is room behind all the rock (2-3") for cleaning and flow. I hated to waste that space for something you can not really see, but as you say it will be better for flow and the fish can go all the way around the tank. None of the rock is close to the glass.

Also, I know its hard to see right now, but there are lots of openings through the rock and in fact the lower part of the return is set to run right through one of the caves, so flow from the back to the front should be good.

Thanks for all of your ideas and comments and will I tweak the aquascaping a bit more prior to adding the sand and salt as the tank slowly fills with RO/DI water.

Here are some other photos showing the space around the rock on the sides and back.

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/009-1.jpg

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/010-1.jpg

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/014.jpg

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/012.jpg

[Cove Beach]

Another thing to keep in mind is at some time in the future you will need to capture somebody in your tank. I learned that wide overhangs are cool to look at and watch fish swim through but make it nearly impossible to reach under to catch a wary fish.

[rldcpa]

If they hide in a cave area how do you get them out? Tank aprart the rock? Or scare them out? Should be fun...

Catching a small fish will be a pain...I think I could catch a clam.

[rldcpa]

Today, I completed the aquascaping and added the substrate, heaters and salt. The tank is nearly full but will have to wait until tomorrow to have enough water to start the sump. I put the heaters in the display tank just to warm up the water and then added the Tunze powerheads to move the water and to disolve the salt.

I used the ATC refractor (temperature corrected) today and it worked well. The Tunze 6105's look like they will be enough flow for this tank. The Razor 160 lights look good too, but I am still short one (missing in the middle of tank) as its on backorder.

Here is a full tank shot. I am using an Iphone for photos and can't really get good color photos with it yet.

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/023.jpg

[rldcpa]

UPDATE - This past week I have been fine tuning the setup.

1. Salinity - The tank is filled and the salinity is now stable at 102.5
2. Overflow Noise - I designed the overflow to make no noise, but I found that I had 2 issues. The first issue was that if your 2nd drain (the one that has very low flow) is cut too low, then the water coming over the overflow crashes on the water below. So I bought some new 1.5" PVC and cut a new pipe that is only about 1" from the top. This made the drain silent and the now I do not even need the Durso (2nd issue), its just an open drain. The key is to have only a dribble of water drain down the 2nd drain. No overflow noise at all now.
3. The Tunzes are now conrolled with the Apex so I can do custom flows.
4. Temperature - 2 300 watt heaters is not enough for close to 300 gallons. So I ordered a 800 watt titanium heating tube with no thermostat that will be controlled by the Apex. I will use 1 of the 300 watt as a supplemental heater. The other 300 watt I will use to heat my saltwater storage container as this water drops to around 62 degrees if not heated.
5. Avast ATO - This is pretty cool as it uses a vacuum tube to tell the Apex when there is no water in the tube. It also has a backup float to shut off the water if for some reason the vaccum tube fails. This device works great and will make mainttenance a bit easier. I needed an accurate ATO as my return sump section is the area where the evaporation shows up in my tank. So if this section goes dry, my return pump would burn out. So its important that this section always have at least 6" of water in it. The ATO will make sure that is the case.
6. Testing - Tomorrow is Saturday and will start testing the water. This will be the day I do it each week and will log the results.
7. Shrimp - I threw in 2 uncooked shrimp about a week ago to get the bacteria and cycle going.
8. SRO 5000 - Ran it for a few minutes and it works great. Controls work well and seems like it will be easy to fine tune.
5. Micro bubbles - I notice some micro bubbles in the return area of the sump but I fixed that easily by raising the level of the return area just about equal to the glass sides. No more crashing water = no microbubbles.

When my cycle is complete I will add 2 clowns, a goby and one other small fish to lightly stock the tank. I will get a small clean up crew of 4-8 snails also.

Everyone here wants me to get fish now...but I will wait and do it right. No reason to rush things now.

[garcastle2]

Tagging along. Close to posting my own thread with the main tank almost exactly the same size. :^)

Cheers,
G.

[fpv930]

Looks like a great build you have going! I was looking for information on GLA. I will def be following.

[rldcpa]

My new 800 Watt Titaniam heater took care of my heating issues and now have steady 24-7 temperatures.

My 3rd Maxspect 160 Razor that was on backorder will be here tomorrow.

Tested water again today and water is perfect so I think I will order a few fish to get the tank started - 2 Ocellaris Clownfish and a few Blue Reef Chromis (Chromis cyaneus).

It is interesting that I had no phosphate issue from the 200 pounds of Reef Saver rock and I did not clean or rinse 85% of it. I did clean some of it with vinegar just to see what came off the rock, but when nothing did, I decided to put it right in the tank without rinsing.

[rldcpa]

I received my 3rd Maxspect Razor 160 watt 16k LED and now my tank has balanced light.

I have a few fish and 1 soft coral coming tomorrow morning. Here are some full tank shots of a lifeless tank.

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/002_zps894dd299.jpg

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/001_zps9456ae7c.jpg

[BigCity]

Lookin good, can't wait to get my new tank and start my conversion from my current 120g.

[rldcpa]

My first fish order was delivered today at 11:30am from Live Aquaria (1 hour later than expected, most likely due to the overnight service being a bit busy during the holidays). They packed everything really nice including a heat pack and darkened bags so the fish are protected from bright lights.

Everything came healthy and quickly started acclimation. I received 2 clowns, 3 blue green chromis, a pepermint shrimp. 2 snails (not much of a CUC but I don't have much waste yet) and a Grape Coral - Aquacultured, USA (Euphyllia cristata). The LPS coral was suppose to be 1-2" but was a bit less than an inch. I was a bit disappointed at first but after an hour or two, it opened and looked good, even though a bit small.

Overall I am very pleased with the service and quality from Live Aquaria.

The fish are already eating well and swimming all around. I only occasionally see the shrimp and snails as they are hidden most of the time in the rock cave areas.

Everything so far has gone well with this build.

I still have to decide if I am going to go with a calcium reactor or just go with dosing 2 part + magnesium. The cost differencial is a couple hundred dollars so the initial cost will not be my main determining factor; however future dosing costs will effect my decision and so will the effort needed to use both systems.

I will get some photos of the fish and tank tomorrow and post them.

I am using small pellet food from BRS right now, but I need to get some good frozen foods soon.

[BigCity]

would you mind giving me some details on your stand dimensions as well as the size of your sump? I am going to be going with a setup almost identical for a 300g here in a few months, I am also going to be using the SRO5000 skimmer as well. Is your skimmer and internal or external version? I'm trying to figure out how much room I need under the stand for an internal skimmer going into my 180g sump that is goingn to be 2x2x6?

[rldcpa]

Stand is 36" high and 30 inches deep and 72 inches long. Sump is 18" high and 24 inches deep and 60 inches long. Skimmer is internal and fits easily and allows room for a 7" sock and still room to spare for other reactors.

Be sure to get a 36" high stand or taller or you will have difficulty servicing your sump and may also have limits on what size skimmer you get. 30" stands don't allow much room to work with.

If your tank is 2' deep then you will have to go with a 18" sump which will limit your sump somewhat. I went with the deep tank for 2 reasons - it allowed a deeper sump (24") and also allowed for a deeper tank which gives you more options for aquascaping and the extra depth is nice.

[BigCity]

Cool yours appears to be almost identical my tank is 30" deep as well, I thought about making the stand 36" deep for added room. The only difference is that my sump would be 24" high, so maybe I'll make up for it by going 40-42" tall. I was just worried about getting the skimmer in and out of hte sump once the sump was installed. My stand will be 8' long so I'll have 2' on one end or 1' on each end depending on how I set it up I guess. Could you show some detailed picks of how your sump is setup and configurd and where the skimmer is installed with how deep the water is in the section?

[rldcpa]

Sump is 60"Lx24"Dx18"H - From left to right:

ATO section 12" - glass should be about 1 inch less than top of sump

Skimmer Section 22" - glass on right is 10"

Bubble Trap - add 2 more glass pieces 1.5" apart - these are also 10" and the middle glass piece is 1.5" off bottom

Pump Section - 10" - Glass on right is 12"

Refugium Section 12"

Other Notes:

The pump section must have a ATO to this section or pumps will run dry. I use Avast ATO which uses a vaccuum tube to tell the Apex controller when to turn on the ATO. I also has a back up float incase it fails. The great thing about this sump is that even if the ATO fills the sump, it can't overflow as the water will be able to overflow back to the ATO, so no risk of flooding your house.

[Aquatron]

Nice and clean! Now the fun starts:)

[rldcpa]

Here are some photos (not great ones unfortunately) of the new fish.

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/IMG_0157_zps42de43cc.jpg

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/IMG_0156_zpsa948c813.jpg

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/IMG_0155_zps39006c32.jpg

[rldcpa]

My water was clear but not crystal clear so I ordered a Reef Octopus reactor that I will run carbon with. I should have it in a few days.

Fish are doing well and will give it a week or two more before getting a few more.

[N_prise]

Looks great I have the same size tank from Great Lakes! Mine is a year old on the 1st of jan tho. Congrats! Off to a good start!

[rldcpa]

Hooked up the Reef Octopus Media Reactor for Carbon and is working well.

Water parameters are still right on.

Thought I had lost a snail and my shrimp but they popped out this morning ( I have not seen the shrimp for a week).

Ordered a few more fish and a few pieces of coral for Thursday.

Also, decided to go with 2 part (3 part with MG) and bought a Bubble-Magnus BM-T01 Dosing Pump which will automatically dose all 3 parts.

I decided against the Calcium reactor as I will have fairly low calcium needs in the short to mid term. Later if it gets too expensive or can't keep up, then I will stop the 2 part and get a reactor.

Still undecided on a Bio Pellet reactor. I am hoping since my fish load will be realatively low that the live rock, skimmer, filter sock and Chaeto can keep nitrate/phosphate levels very low.

[rldcpa]

Got my Bubble Magus 3 pump doser and now started very light dosing of Magnesium, Calcium and Alkalinity.

I ordered some fish and coral but one jumped out so ordered screening materials from BRS to cover the tank with clear 1/4" netting.

Here are some photo. I need a real cameral instead of the IPhone.

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/011-1_zpsdf24561c.jpg

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/013-1_zps13ca9ae4.jpg

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/017_zpsfb7fa496.jpg

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/018_zpsc626d3e6.jpg

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/019_zpsf2fffd78.jpg

[rldcpa]

I tested water today and all was good except Alkalinity has been dropping and calcium is dropping, so I increased dosage using the new Bubble Magus 3 pump doser. This doser is really easy to program and will spread the dose over 24 hours in 24 equal parts.

The fighing conch is cleaning the tank and algae nicely. The Naso Tang is a bit shy if I am in front of the tank but otherwise is always hunting for food. He is doing a nice job also of cleaning algae off the rocks.

The pepermint shrimt seems to come out only at night but the Cleaner Shrimg and Fire Shrimp are more active.

The fish all seem happy with the New Life Spectrum fish food. Its cheap, does not cloud the water and the fish love it.

Got some Chato algae yesterday from Live Aquaria and put it in refugium. I put some on a magnet feeder and the Tang seems to like it too.

Corals all look healthy but want to increase Calcium from about 300 to 425-450. I started the lighting up to about 50% of the LED output as I don't want to bleach the corals and am increasing the lighting a bit each day.

[rldcpa]

Update - Everything is going good with the tank so I ordered a clam, some corals and some more fish. Here are some photo's of a McCosker's Flasher Wrasse, Blue Maxima Clam, and a Firefish Goby . I promise to get a real camera soon as these pictures are lacking.

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/017_zps637bbe3f.jpg

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/020_zpsa9b50518.jpg

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/028-1_zpsbdf2eb37.jpg

This is a lousy photo, but this tang has single handedly cleaned almost all the algae in my tank. I suggest every tank get one.

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/029_zps77546302.jpg

[BigCity]

Looking good, still waiting on my tank. Gaining lots of good info watching yours come together.

[rldcpa]

Here is a funny photo. One snail is doing all the work and the other 2 are tagging along. They did finally separate.

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/001_zpsaacb7385.jpg


Here are a few short video's from the Iphone.

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/th_011-1_zps368c0115.jpg (http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/011-1_zps368c0115.mp4)

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/th_010-2_zpse83a8e47.jpg (http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/010-2_zpse83a8e47.mp4)

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/th_009-2_zps24239798.jpg (http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/009-2_zps24239798.mp4)

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/th_008-1_zps67220d26.jpg (http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/008-1_zps67220d26.mp4)

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/th_007_zps8f74ebb6.jpg (http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/007_zps8f74ebb6.mp4)

[rldcpa]

Tank is doing well. Water parameters have been perfect. Dosing 3 part has kept tank maintenance easy. I test weekly, but the only ones that seem improtant now are calcium, MG and Alkalinity. The others are always 0. Here are some new additions.

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/001_zpsa08fff3d.jpg

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/007_zps5693dd2b.jpg

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/008-1_zps45df662e.jpg

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/009-2_zps481b4059.jpg

[DopeCantWin]

How is the Sailfin on the pacing? I've been thinking of getting one for my 210, but I don't want a fish that just paces all the time. I want it happy and grazing like in the wild.

[rldcpa]

The Yellow Tang is actually more shy then the Salfin Tang. They both are out in the open most of the time and pretty much stay together and graze together. This is actually a Sailfin Tang, Desjardini which is a little nicer looking then the regular Sailfin Tang. This is a juvenile so has more yellow then it will have as an adult.

My tank is still a reef safe, friendly tank. My tank now contains:

FISH:
Sailfin Tang, Desjardini
Yellow Tang
3 Black Bar Chromis
3 Blue Green Chromis
McCosker's Flasher Wrasse
2 Ocellaris Clownfish
Pearly Jawfish
Orange Spotted Goby

SHRIMP:
Pepermint Shrimp
Fire Shrimp
Cleaner Shrimp

CORAL:
Branched Montipora Coral, Purple
Birdnest Coral
Scripp's Green Staghorn Acropora
Purple Death palys
Purple Tip Frogspawn Coral
Red Montipora Capricornus
Eagle Eye Zoanthids

SNAILS:
4 Nassarius Snail
Tonga Fighting Conch (Strombus sp.)
4 Astrea Snail
Nerite Snail


Clams:
Derasa Clam, Striped with Blue Rim

[rldcpa]

Update - About a month ago, I had to go away on business. When I got back I notice some salt splash on the side of the tank and thought I had a leak.

Well, it was not a leak. While I was gone my son did not follow my instructions. Instead of just puting a pinch of food in the tank to feed the fish, he instead tried to pour the right amount of pellet food in and accidently dumped in about an 1/8th of a jar. He then tried to scoop some out but he did not get enough out.

The effect of this spill caused hair algae to run rampant. Then my corals stressed, one coral died, the clam died and a snail died.

As soon as I could, I cleaned up the tank, changed the sock, skimmer, and did a water change and then waited.

Everything is now getting back to normal. the soft corals that were stressed and shrunk up, are now growing again. The corals are still a bit stressed but I hope that changes soon.

During this month long event, my fish were fine and I did not lose any fish.

The one interesting thing is that my weekly water parameters never really changed. I am guessing that there was a spike but it never showed up in my testing.

The hair algae has been reduced by about 90% but still have some on the high rock, which is fine as the 2 tangs have cleaned up things fairly well. Algae on the glass was growing like crazy a few weeks ago, but now is growing very little, and only needs to be cleaned one a week and there really is not much there.

Anyway, as it is tax season anyway, I will let the tank settle for the next 4 weeks and then I should be able to add some corals again and a couple of fish.

[rldcpa]

The tank has recovered well from the food spill by my son. I have added some coral and fish. Water parameters are perfect and tank has settled in well.

The tank is now 4 months old. Here are some current photos:

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/021_zpsda3f42f6.jpg (http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/rldcpa/media/021_zpsda3f42f6.jpg.html)

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/019_zps53c4b617.jpg (http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/rldcpa/media/019_zps53c4b617.jpg.html)

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/016_zps34f8ddda.jpg (http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/rldcpa/media/016_zps34f8ddda.jpg.html)

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/010-2_zpsfa2890b0.jpg (http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/rldcpa/media/010-2_zpsfa2890b0.jpg.html)

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/019_zps53c4b617.jpg (http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/rldcpa/media/019_zps53c4b617.jpg.html)

[rldcpa]

The birdnest coral in the photo has a crab hitch hiker. I did dip that coral and got rid of 2 crayfish looking things, but somehow missed the crab. He did not leave the coral so he got in the tank, but so far stays within the birdnest and feeds on debris that blows in. It could be a acro. Its small and has no hair on it.

[maddmaxx]

is the sailfin beating up the yellow tang?

[rldcpa]

The yellow and the Sailfin never fought.

The tangs get along well. I just introduced an Mimic Eibli Tang a few days ago and the other tangs picked on him, but he would not let them drive him away and he kept coming back to their side of the tank to show his dominance. Today they are all getting along well and all respect each other. The Mimic does have a split tail but the war is over and he should heal quickly. The Mimic fought to be part of the gang of other tangs and he won and is now part of the gang.

[Cove Beach]

It looks to me like the Powder blue is beating up the yellow and the Sailfin from the amount of fin that is missing off them. It may be time to decide which fish to keep.

[Newbie Aquarist]

Tank looks great after the over feed. Looks clean as ever.

[rldcpa]

I started using Rods food to aid in feeding corals and that seems to help. Also started 2 coral food supplements - Korallen-Zucht Pohl’s Coral Vitalizer and Korallen-Zucht Pohl’s Xtra Special. Still acclimating corals to the LED's - up to about 55% peak and will stop at about 70% and see if that is enough light.

What I notice is that there is more growth, almost all the lightening of the corals are gone and some growth is underway.

Here are some updated photos with the Iphone (still have not picked out a good camera yet) so the photos are still pretty bad.

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/054_zpsd3f90243.jpg (http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/rldcpa/media/054_zpsd3f90243.jpg.html)

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/053_zpsa4e4bfa3.jpg (http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/rldcpa/media/053_zpsa4e4bfa3.jpg.html)

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/051_zps1fb94db2.jpg (http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/rldcpa/media/051_zps1fb94db2.jpg.html)

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/025_zps02252c9c.jpg (http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/rldcpa/media/025_zps02252c9c.jpg.html)

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/024_zpsb8a4c770.jpg (http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/rldcpa/media/024_zpsb8a4c770.jpg.html)

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/023-1_zpsc6274f37.jpg (http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/rldcpa/media/023-1_zpsc6274f37.jpg.html)

[aileen]

Nice build thread! I got my 195g 72x24x26 from Great Lakes as well with a starphire front pane, painted black back, 1800gph overflow with only one 1 1/2 drain durso that I modified and a 1 inch return split off into two. I got the black mahogany stand as well with glass tops I drop down the evap.

[JillNairn]

Good build. Nice to see a wide tank with razors. I have bought four razors to put over a seven foot tank (well that is the tank in the storage unit... but already thinking would like to go bigger). How do you like the spread on the six foot tank with the three?

Subscribe and will follow along.

[rldcpa]

3 are plenty for a 6 foot. I have them ramped up now to 70-80%. I will leave it at this level now as coral growth and color are good. I started at 35% and increased the rate by 1 a day.

[pjwperth]

Loving the thread rldcpa only read it today. I'm in the process of doing a similar build with either a 72x36x24 or 72x24x24 depending on the cost.

ps we have almost the same taste in fish to

[RJT]

Nice tank. I have the same lights over my 220. What do you plan on adding to the tank next?

[rldcpa]

I had a major event where I lost half of my fish. At first everyone thought that it must be Velvet, but I believe it was a bacterial bloom caused by a few changes I made.

1. Stopped GAC and
2. Stocked the tank fairly full and
3. Dosed for 3 weeks straight Coral Vitalizer and Pohl's Xtra. For the amount of corals I had in the tank, this was way too much. Algae bloomed which was a warning to me, that I ignored. Then fish started dying for no apparent reason.

Immediately I did water changes, started GAC and stopped the additives and turned down the lights. Half the fish died within 3-4 days. My powder blue tang died first followed by 7 chromis, 2 clowns and a couple of gobies.

4 of the 5 tangs lived, the wrasse, lawmower goby, and 5 chromis lived.

All fish are now doing better than ever.

The additives did help the corals grow and color up. I stopped using the additives for the last 3 weeks and corals still look great. I will dose only once a week instead of 7 days a week.

Here are some photos of some of the corals (from a Iphone)

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/032_zps96f83202.jpg (http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/rldcpa/media/032_zps96f83202.jpg.html)


http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/029_zps30a4350e.jpg (http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/rldcpa/media/029_zps30a4350e.jpg.html)

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/028-1_zps8f170a0e.jpg (http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/rldcpa/media/028-1_zps8f170a0e.jpg.html)

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/027_zps31947ea5.jpg (http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/rldcpa/media/027_zps31947ea5.jpg.html)

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/024_zpsb8cb3b06.jpg (http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/rldcpa/media/024_zpsb8cb3b06.jpg.html)

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/rldcpa/022_zps0d19ab5f.jpg (http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/rldcpa/media/022_zps0d19ab5f.jpg.html)

[rldcpa]

Here is a video a couple of weeks before the event.


http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/rldcpa/media/006-2_zps3dfaaacb.mp4.html

[rldcpa]

I was going to place an order today, but decided to wait one more week.

I would like to replace a few of the fish I lost due to my event by getting two clowns, 2 gobies and a royal gramma and maybe get a leather coral.

I will take it a bit slower as I never want to go through that again.

[rldcpa]

So on Friday I got 2 new clowns, 2 gobies and 2 new corals. then the power went out and rushed out to get a generator. $400 later got it running and saved my fish and corals.

Power came on Saturday and everything is doing great.

I will update pictures later this week.

As a side note I upgraded my return pump from the Water Blaster 7000 to the 10000 to get more flow through the sump and the tank. It uses the same size fittings so it took only minutes for the change out and no plumbing was needed.

I may keep it as a spare in case of emergency.

[tramboneplayer5]

2. Overflow Noise - I designed the overflow to make no noise, but I found that I had 2 issues. The first issue was that if your 2nd drain (the one that has very low flow) is cut too low, then the water coming over the overflow crashes on the water below. So I bought some new 1.5" PVC and cut a new pipe that is only about 1" from the top. This made the drain silent and the now I do not even need the Durso (2nd issue), its just an open drain. The key is to have only a dribble of water drain down the 2nd drain. No overflow noise at all now.


Hi, I recently read through your thread. Your tank looks great! I am wondering exactly what you meant by the 2nd issue. Are you saying that the open channel is now dry? In other words, you have one pipe at full siphon, a dry Durso, and a dry emergency pipe? Also, how well is the overflow working after having it set up like this for a while?

Also, thanks for making a nice build thread.

[rldcpa]

Yes one pipe is full vacuum with gate valve, 2nd pipe is open and only has a very small amount of water going down it (you adjust the gate until the 2nd pipe finally gets a small amount of water to enter it), and the 3rd pipe is for emergency backup. I started with a durso for the 2nd but got rid of it as its silent without it.

Also, I started with a WB 7000 and later replaced it with the 10,000 just to get a bit more flow. The 7000 is now a backup. They both use the same size fittings so I can just swap them out at any time in about 2 minutes.

If you do it right, you will have no splashing, no micro bubbles, no noise and good flow.

So how quiet is it....silent. The only noise from the tank at all is a slight hum from the skimmer and I have 4 powerheads (silent), 1 UV pump (silent), 1 refugium pump (silent).

[worm5406]

So after the loss of some of the fish. How has it recovered and how is the tank doing?

[FrankB1]

How do you like the split return and the piping coming down the outside of the overflow for deeper water return? I may consider having them plumb 2 separate returns just going to the top of the overflow then spilt loc line.

Do you have the Tunzes on the sea sweeps ?

Tank looks Awesome.

[Pife]

Do you have any powerheads/wavemakers?

[rldcpa]

Ok, to answer the post 3 up. I still do not know for sure what caused the deaths.


After the deaths, the tank has been stable. All the fish were normal except 3 Chromis which for the last 3 months have been near the top and inactive. All the other fish are doing great and are growing and eating nicely. All corals are doing well to and are growing well

I bought and installed a 80 watt Emperor UV for various reasons and to see what it would do to the inactive Chromis. The effects of the UV was that my water went from fairly clear to crystal clear. It is incredible how clear a UV will make your tank.

After about 30-45 days of running the UV, the Chromis got better. They are more active, eating better and swim around a lot more.

I believe the UV has killed either bacteria or some disease that was affecting the smaller fish like the Chromis. I am not saying that a UV can kill all diseases in a tank, but it will kill all disease that go through the unit.

So the UV looks like it is a great addition to a reef aquarium and it has not hurt my corals at all as they are growing nicely.

[rldcpa]

To answer the question below: The deep water return is nice as it gives you an option of how much water you want coming out of the top or bottom of the return pipe...I have it evenly split as this seems to give the best results with no splashing or noise. Mine is a split...my 1 return is 1" and it splits into two 3/4" deep water returns. Just be sure you have a hole right below the water line or you will flood your house from if your pump goes out.

I have two 6105 Tunze's and my Neptune Apex Controller runs them with different patters and wave settings. I added 2 cheaper Hydor Korelia 1100 and 1300 powerheads that run constantly for added flow.

How do you like the split return and the piping coming down the outside of the overflow for deeper water return? I may consider having them plumb 2 separate returns just going to the top of the overflow then spilt loc line.

Do you have the Tunzes on the sea sweeps ?

Tank looks Awesome.

[rablett]

Great write-up. Very helpful. I am considering the exact same tank and stand you have from GLA. Could you do me a favor and measure the thickness of the glass? The reason I am asking is that this tank shows a shipping weight of 90 pounds less than the Marineland 220 I moved to my son's house. I noticed the tank uses glass bracing around the bottom too, which I haven't seen before.
Thanks!

[rldcpa]

Glass is 1/2 inch.

I need to post some pictures as my tank looks a lot different then these pictures show. I will try to take some photos this weekend.

[Bjoern]

Pictures? :-)